Merritt Island

The unincorporated "town" of Merritt Island is located on Florida's largest island, which serves as the home of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, still a major tourist attraction, even though space shuttles are no longer being launched from Merritt Island. You can enter the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, meet an astronaut, enjoy the automated thrills of the Shuttle Launch Experience and explore other interactive displays. And, if you are fortunate, you will be in Merritt Island when an unmanned rocket blasts off from the space center or from the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Juxtaposed with all of this is the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a 140,000-acre nature sanctuary.